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rainsometimesI could think of no entries for X and I don't have any for Z, either: as with the letter J, I know of titles beginning with those letters, but I haven't read any of them myself. Hence, this will be my final post.
My thanks to everyone who have stucked with me through this! If you have any thoughts about this entry or earlier ones, I'd be delighted to hear them. ♥
Yotsuba& by Kiyohiko Azuma
Yotsuba& is a very slice-of-life seinen manga focused on five-year-old Yotsuba and her daily adventures. Almost all the chapters so far have been called "Yotsuba & [X]", hence the title.
Though episodic in presentation, there is in fact a continuity, and time moves, if slowly: the first volume takes place when Yotsuba Koiwai and her father (whose first name is still not given) move into a new neighbourhood around the start of summer, and volume 11, the latest one translated, is only in the midst of autumn. Each volume seems to take up about a couple of weeks of Yotsuba's life, approximately. To me, this seems like a good way to make a story last longer in the main setting without going into unchanging Comic Book Time. Plus, it suits well with the way children tend to experience time, the days lasting longer for adults because so many things are new and even routines are not as routine-y.
That being said, while Yotsuba is indeed the main character and there's no content inappropriate for children in the stories I read, keep in mind that it's not actually a children's comic. It's intended for a grown-up audience who can see the humour of Yotsuba's antics while also getting to recall their own childhood in a way that feels refreshing and relaxing. IMO, a child Yotsuba's age would probably not realise what's so funny, and an older child would understand that but might not be terribly interested. (But I haven't tested this out, and I could well be wrong.)
In the early volumes Yotsuba sometimes came across as a bit of a super-child to me - that is, realistic, but very much to the max; her father remarks on her that "Nothing in this world can get her down. Nothing." in the first volume. This has lessened in later volumes, though: now some things do get Yotsuba down into real slumps, like any child that age.
It actually took me a little time to get used to the slower pacing of Yotsuba& after being more used to the four-panel rhythm of the mangaka's previous work, Azumanga Daioh!. But after a while the humour just clicked for me, as well as everything else.
Throughout this manga the humour is excellent, with good dialogue and very funny expressions; Yotsuba is an awesome main character and a well-observed young child (even if the fictional character she most reminds me of is Monkey D. Luffy - but that might mostly say something about Luffy); the rest of the cast are all distinct and funny in their own right; the art is fantastic; there's some very nice silent sequences, and above all the main character's sheer joy in discovering more about life and having fun with it comes through extremely well. The comic's motto is "enjoy everything".
****************************
Creators
Norihiro Yagi (Claymore)
Kou Yaginuma (Twin Spica)
Ai Yazawa (Nana)
Fumi Yoshinaga (Ooku, All My Darling Daughters)
Makoto Yukimura (Planetes, Vinland Saga)
Favourite characters
Yusaku Godai (Maison Ikkoku)
Yoshitsune (20th Century Boys)
So there we are then - from 20th Century Boys to Yotsuba& (not a shabby pair of book-ends if I may say so), this is my manga alphabet at the moment. What about yours?
My thanks to everyone who have stucked with me through this! If you have any thoughts about this entry or earlier ones, I'd be delighted to hear them. ♥
Yotsuba& by Kiyohiko Azuma
Yotsuba& is a very slice-of-life seinen manga focused on five-year-old Yotsuba and her daily adventures. Almost all the chapters so far have been called "Yotsuba & [X]", hence the title.
Though episodic in presentation, there is in fact a continuity, and time moves, if slowly: the first volume takes place when Yotsuba Koiwai and her father (whose first name is still not given) move into a new neighbourhood around the start of summer, and volume 11, the latest one translated, is only in the midst of autumn. Each volume seems to take up about a couple of weeks of Yotsuba's life, approximately. To me, this seems like a good way to make a story last longer in the main setting without going into unchanging Comic Book Time. Plus, it suits well with the way children tend to experience time, the days lasting longer for adults because so many things are new and even routines are not as routine-y.
That being said, while Yotsuba is indeed the main character and there's no content inappropriate for children in the stories I read, keep in mind that it's not actually a children's comic. It's intended for a grown-up audience who can see the humour of Yotsuba's antics while also getting to recall their own childhood in a way that feels refreshing and relaxing. IMO, a child Yotsuba's age would probably not realise what's so funny, and an older child would understand that but might not be terribly interested. (But I haven't tested this out, and I could well be wrong.)
In the early volumes Yotsuba sometimes came across as a bit of a super-child to me - that is, realistic, but very much to the max; her father remarks on her that "Nothing in this world can get her down. Nothing." in the first volume. This has lessened in later volumes, though: now some things do get Yotsuba down into real slumps, like any child that age.
It actually took me a little time to get used to the slower pacing of Yotsuba& after being more used to the four-panel rhythm of the mangaka's previous work, Azumanga Daioh!. But after a while the humour just clicked for me, as well as everything else.
Throughout this manga the humour is excellent, with good dialogue and very funny expressions; Yotsuba is an awesome main character and a well-observed young child (even if the fictional character she most reminds me of is Monkey D. Luffy - but that might mostly say something about Luffy); the rest of the cast are all distinct and funny in their own right; the art is fantastic; there's some very nice silent sequences, and above all the main character's sheer joy in discovering more about life and having fun with it comes through extremely well. The comic's motto is "enjoy everything".
****************************
Creators
Norihiro Yagi (Claymore)
Kou Yaginuma (Twin Spica)
Ai Yazawa (Nana)
Fumi Yoshinaga (Ooku, All My Darling Daughters)
Makoto Yukimura (Planetes, Vinland Saga)
Favourite characters
Yusaku Godai (Maison Ikkoku)
Yoshitsune (20th Century Boys)
So there we are then - from 20th Century Boys to Yotsuba& (not a shabby pair of book-ends if I may say so), this is my manga alphabet at the moment. What about yours?